Movable parts on a vehicle, especially rear hatches, are connected via hinges, and in many cases via hinges with four joints, to the body of the vehicle. In most cases, there is a spring on each hinge which supports some of the weight of the moving part and dampens the movement of the hatch. In automatically operated rear hatches, or similarly constructed parts, it is the state of the art to replace one of these springs with a drive unit for opening and closing of the hatch, preferably using a hydraulic cylinder. This arrangement is ill balanced and strains the hatch, and also has the significant disadvantage that the pressure conduits must pass through the rain gutter and that the cylinder itself needs protection for the surface thereof. Moreover, the hinge which includes the drive arrangement must be of a different design than the non-driven hinges. State of the art is also a construction in which one of the hinge levers is made to extend directly inward into the interior of the vehicle where a drive means is connected to it. This design has, however, the disadvantage that the passageway through which the hinge lever extends is difficult to insulate, since the insulation should occur throughout the large path of the lever over a large area. For this reason, this known solution has not been successful.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to create an arrangement which combines optimal drive device protection with a simple design and good, problem-free operation of the part to be moved.